TIRUNELVELI: Kanchi Veerans are not a team known for consistency. Be it performance or jersey colour. But unlike other franchises which are result-oriented, Baba Aparajith & Co’s focus has been on finding talent from the interiors of the state. So much so that even when the team lost six of the seven matches last year, their owner had said giving exposure to youngsters matters more than results.
With a young squad, it is a gamble. In the last three years, they won only eight of 21 matches. They did not fret over it and this season, they seem to be getting it right. After losing badly in their opener against Kovai Kings, they have come back strongly to win two in a row. It was R Silambarasan who ripped through the Madurai Panthers line-up before Kanchi chased down the target of 139 with seven wickets to spare in Sunday’s TNPL match.
It was the first five wicket-haul for the right-arm pacer from Cuddalore. He was hardly in the scheme of things for Kanchi last season, just three games and one wicket. That rustiness was evident when he went wicketless in the first two games this time. But Aparajith persisted with him. And it paid dividends, as he ended with 5/17.
The 26-year-old’s match-awareness fetched him key wickets. With Madurai finding it hard to score after the top-order was sent packing, Silambarasan stuck to his plan of bowling slow. Three of his five wickets came when he took the pace off the ball. Though not very quick, he clocks between 130 and 134kmph.
On the other hand, it was the same old story for Madurai, whose batting has been dependent on KB Arun Karthick.
Once he was dismissed for an 8-ball one in the second over by Thamarai Kannan, the defending champions were caught wanting. The decision to hand the captaincy to Shijit Chandran caused a surprise. Karthick had led from the front in the first two games, scoring 65 not out and 24.
Chandran, who relies more on timing than power, hit a few pleasing cover drives. But after he was dismissed for 39 off 36 deliveries, Madurai could not sustain it. They sunk deeper as 91/3 became 109/6 and 126/8.
Another takeaway for Kanchi was their young wicketkeeper S Lokeshwar, who has now hit back-to-back fifties. After Kanchi lost two early wickets, the right-hander showed composure to take the team home with an unbeaten 52. With things starting to fall in place, Kanchi might be the team to watch out for.
Brief scores: Madurai 138/9 in 20 ovs (Chandran 39; Silambarasan 5/17) lost to Kanchi 141/3 in 19 ovs (Lokeshwar 51 n.o, Aparajith 44). Kovai 115/9 in 20 ovs (Kumar 4/13) lost to Chepauk 116/1 in 13.3 ovs (Gopinath 82).